Your 40s Might Be The Best Decade Of Your Life—Here’s Why

Forty is the age where all that beer drinking, chip eating, or lack of exercise finally starts catching up with you. It’s the age when the body starts to ache for no particular reason and you find yourself taking it easy on the things you love to do most. It’s when a lot of people start feeling their youth slip away from them and they fear for the next half of their lives—but it doesn’t have to be like that. Your 40s can be one of the best decades of your life, and here’s why.

You get a little salt and pepper. You might be graying a bit, or even balding, but that just adds to the whole distinguished looking thing women go for. Believe it or not, a lot of women prefer a man in his 40s to that of the younger version. It’s because a man hitting 40 knows what he wants or has already gotten it. This brings confidence, and women like that.

It’s time to get flexible. Stretching goes a long way towards feeling good, especially if you’ve never really thought of it as important. I don’t know where I heard this, but football players at the top of their game will sometimes take ballet to improve their ability to play and reduce injuries. You should look it up. Anyway, injuries are born out of inflexibility. Don’t stop doing the things you love because you’ve been injured or think you might get injured. Just do some stretching. Maybe tie in some yoga. Exercises that improve mobility and flexibility can be done for the rest of your life and can keep you from being one of those hobbling old men who can barely make it down the hall.

You can really check stuff off your bucket list. Your 40s are the time to do those things that maybe you didn’t have time for before. You’ve got money, you’ve got vacation earned up, your kids (if you have them) are older, so what are you waiting for? Take that vacation, restore that car, climb that mountain…whatever you want to do, now is the time to do it. There’s no real excuse not to.

You still have plenty of time. Forty is middle-aged, it’s not old. It’s a different kind of prime, one where you have the time and the energy to do what you enjoy most. You’re established in the direction you’re going, you know what you want, and you know what you like. There’s so much less uncertainty. You have the time now to invest in the people that you love and the things that you’re passionate about. This doesn’t mean that you have to completely change directions, but it does mean that you can finally start going for the things that get you fired up.

You’ve probably gotten rid of a lot of your debt. You’re finally out of debt or working towards it. Those student loans finally got paid off. Maybe even your house is almost paid off. Your credit is good and you’ve got more money coming in. There’s a lot of stuff you can do with it. Figure that out, budget it right, and you’re set for kayaking to Europe (or whatever else you’ve been dying to do/buy).

You can finally embrace your inner athlete. There are a lot of team sports that you can do that maybe you didn’t have time for before. Maybe you’ve gotten into the habit of finishing off your night with a bit of TV and you’re feeling bored. Get together weekly with some other men and do some manly crap and you’ll be feeling awesome. In other words, 40 is the time where you find your niche.

Sleep is bliss. Two decades ago, you were up all night because you were partying hard; a decade ago you were up because of the kids; a decade from now you’ll be up going to the bathroom. Forty is the age where sleep is truly appreciated and where you wake up feeling alive. Or you wake up next to your partner, and when you pull her close nobody is young enough to interrupt. Forty is a decade where sleep is truly appreciated.

The sex is much better. Did you know that women hit the peak of their libido at 36? Women in their30s through to their 40s love sex and are sure to let you know how they feel about it. Not to mention, you have experience with one woman and they have experience with you. Your relationship is real and deep. Forty is the decade for late nights (and mornings!). Basically, it’s time for the best sex of your life.